Plot

In rural 1920s Virginia, the young Desmond Doss nearly kills his little brother Hal while roughhousing. This event and his Seventh-day Adventist upbringing reinforce Desmond's belief in the commandment "Thou shalt not kill". Years later, Doss takes an injured man to the hospital and meets a nurse, Dorothy Schutte. The two strike a romance and Doss tells Dorothy of his interest in medical work.

Doss is placed under the command of Sergeant Howell. He excels physically, but becomes an outcast among his fellow soldiers for refusing to handle a rifle and train on Saturdays. Howell and Captain Glover attempt to discharge Doss for psychiatric reasons but are overruled, as Doss' religious beliefs do not constitute mental illness. They subsequently torment Doss by putting him through grueling labor, intending to get Doss to leave of his own accord. Despite being beaten one night by his fellow soldiers, he refuses to identify his attackers and continues training.

Doss' unit completes basic training and is released on leave, during which Doss intends to marry Dorothy, but his refusal to carry a firearm leads to an arrest for insubordination. Captain Glover and Dorothy visit Doss in jail and try to convince him to plead guilty so that he can be released without charge, but Doss refuses to compromise his beliefs. At his trial Doss pleads not guilty, but before he is sentenced, his father barges into the tribunal with a letter from a former commanding officer stating that his son's pacifism is protected by an Act of Congress. The charges against Doss are dropped, and he and Dorothy are married.

Doss' unit is assigned to the 77th Infantry Division and deployed to the Pacific theater. During the Battle of Okinawa, Doss' unit is informed that they are to relieve the 96th Infantry Division, which was tasked with ascending and securing the Maeda Escarpment ("Hacksaw Ridge"). Both sides suffer heavy losses during the initial fight. Doss saves his squadmate Smitty, earning his respect. As the Americans camp for the night, Doss reveals to Smitty that his aversion to holding a firearm stems from nearly shooting his drunken father, who threatened his mother with a gun. Smitty apologizes for doubting his courage, and the two reconcile.

The next morning, the Japanese launch a massive counterattack and drive the Americans off the escarpment. Smitty is killed, while Howell and several of Doss' squad mates are left injured on the battlefield. Doss hears the cries of dying soldiers and returns to save them, carrying the wounded to the cliff's edge and belaying them down by rope, each time praying to save one more. The arrival of dozens of wounded once presumed dead comes as a shock to the rest of the unit below. When day breaks, Doss rescues Howell and the two escape Hacksaw under enemy fire.

Captain Glover tells Doss that the men have been inspired by his selflessness, and that they will not launch the next attack without him. With reinforcements, they turn the tide of battle. After an ambush set by Japanese soldiers feigning surrender, Doss manages to save Glover and others by deflecting enemy grenades. Doss is eventually wounded by a grenade blast, but the battle is won. Doss descends the cliff, clutching the Bible Dorothy gave him.

The film switches to archival photos and footage showing that Doss was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman for rescuing 75 soldiers at Hacksaw Ridge. Doss stayed married to Dorothy until her death in 1991. He died on March 23, 2006, at the age of 87.

Production

Development

In 2001, after finally convincing Doss that making a movie on his remarkable life was the right thing to do, screenwriter/producer Gregory Crosby (grandson of Bing Crosby) wrote the treatment and brought the project to film producer David Permut, of Permut Presentations, through the early cooperation of Stan Jensen of the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which ultimately led to the film being financed.[10]

In 2004, director Terry Benedict won the rights to make a documentary about Doss, The Conscientious Objector, and secured the dramatic film rights in the process. However, Doss died in 2006, after which producer Bill Mechanic acquired and then sold the rights to Walden Media, which developed the project along with producer David Permut.[12] Gregory Crosby and Steve Longi served as co-producers.[13]Walden Media insisted on a PG-13 version of the battle, and Mechanic spent years working to buy the rights back.[11][14]

After acquiring the rights, Mechanic approached Mel Gibson, and wanted him to create a concoction of violence and faith, as he did with The Passion of the Christ (2004). Gibson turned down the offer twice, as he previously did with Braveheart (1995).[15] Nearly a decade later, Gibson finally agreed to direct, a decision announced in November 2014. The same month, Andrew Garfield was confirmed to play the role of Desmond Doss.[12]

With a budget of $40 million, the team still faced many challenges. Hacksaw Ridge became an international co-production, with key players and firms located in both the United States and Australia. When Australian tax incentives were taken off the table, the film had to qualify as Australian to receive government subsidies. Despite being American-born, Gibson's early years in Australia helped the film qualify, along with most of the cast being Australian, including Rachel Griffiths (Doss' mother), Teresa Palmer (Doss' wife), Sam Worthington (unit leader), Hugo Weaving (as Doss' father), Richard Roxburgh (as a colonel) and Luke Bracey (as Smitty, one of Doss' most antagonistic unit members). Rounding out the cast was American actor Vince Vaughn.[16] According to producer Bill Mechanic, Australian state and federal subsidies made financing the film possible.[17]

On February 9, 2015, IM Global closed a deal to finance the film, and also sold the film into the international markets.[18] On the same day, Lionsgate acquired the North American distribution rights to the film.[19] Chinese distribution rights were acquired by Bliss Media, a Shanghai-based film production and distribution company.[20]

Hacksaw Ridge is the first film directed by Gibson since Apocalypto in 2006,[21][22] and marks a departure from his previous films, such as Apocalypto and Braveheart, in which the protagonists acted violently.[23]

Garfield plays Desmond Doss, a US Army medic awarded the Medal of Honor by President Harry S. Truman for saving lives during the Battle of Okinawa in World War II.[12] Garfield had high regards for Doss, and venerated him for his act of bravery, hailing him as a "wonderful symbol of embodying the idea of live and let live no matter what your ideology is, no matter what your value system is, just to allow other people to be who they are and allow yourself to be who you are." He found the idea of playing a real superhero, as compared to his past roles playing Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel, much more inspiring.[32] Garfield admitted that he cried the first time he read the screenplay.[33] He visited Doss' hometown and touched his various tools.[34] Gibson was drawn to Garfield the first time he saw his performance in The Social Network.[23]

Palmer wanted a role in the film so badly that she auditioned via phone, and sent the recording to Gibson. She heard nothing back for three months, until Gibson called Palmer to tell her in a Skype chat that he had cast her in the role of Dorothy, Doss' wife.[35]

Principal photography

Principal photography started on September 29, 2015,[22] and lasted for 59 days,[36] ending in December of that year.[10] Filming took place entirely in Australia.[15] The film was based at Fox Studios in Sydney, after producers vigorously scouted for locations around the country.[37] Filming took place mostly in the state of New South Wales — where Gibson spent much of his early years — in and around Sydney such as in Richmond,[38]Bringelly,[39] and Oran Park.[40] Gibson moved to the state in July 2015, two months before filming began.[41] The graveyard scene was shot at a set-constructed cemetery in Sydney's Centennial Park.[42]
The grounds of Newington Armory at Sydney Olympic Park were used as Fort Jackson. Filming in Bringelly required the team to clear and deforest over 500 hectares of land, which evoked the ire of some environmentalists. However, the producers had complete approval and clearance to do so. Also conditions were imposed to replant and rehabilitate part of the land after filming ceased.[43] According to Troy Grant, New South Wales' deputy premier and minister for the arts, the film brought 720 jobs and US$19 million to regional and rural New South Wales.[44]

Altogether, three jeeps, two trucks and a tank were featured in the film.[15] Bulldozers and backhoes were used to transform a dairy pasture near Sydney to re-create the Okinawa battlefield. A berm had to be raised around the perimeter so cameras could turn 360 degrees without getting any eucalyptus trees in the background.[15] Gibson did not want to rely heavily on computer visual effects, either on the screen or in pre-visualizing the battle scenes. Visual effects were used only during bloody scenes, like napalm-burnt soldiers.[15] During filming of the war scenes, Gibson incorporated his past war-movie experiences, and would yell to the actors, reminding them constantly of what they were fighting for.[15]

Post-production

Kevin O'Connell, who won his first Academy Award for sound mixing in this film (after 20 nominations), stated that budget constraints forced him to utilize archival sounds of WWII-era weapons.[45]

Themes

The film has been described as an anti-war film,[46] with pacifist themes.[15] It also incorporates recurring religious imagery, such as baptism and ascension.[3]

Historical accuracy

Doss on top of the Maeda Escarpment, May 4, 1945

After the war, Doss turned down many requests for books and film versions of his actions, because he was wary of whether his life, wartime experiences, and Seventh-day Adventist beliefs would be portrayed inaccurately or sensationally. Doss' only child, Desmond Doss Jr., stated: "The reason he declined is that none of them adhered to his one requirement: that it be accurate. And I find it remarkable, the level of accuracy in adhering to the principal of the story in this movie."[47] Producer David Permut stated that the filmmakers took great care in maintaining the integrity of the story, since Doss was very religious.[3]

However, the filmmakers did change some details, notably the backstory about his father, the incident with the gun Doss took out of his alcoholic father's hands, and the circumstances of his first marriage.[47][48] The character of Smitty, portrayed by Luke Bracey, is an amalgamation of various soldiers who tormented Doss and was created for narrative reasons.[49] Other changes to the story occur near the end of the movie when Doss is placed on a stretcher. In real life, Doss had another wounded man take his place on the stretcher. After treating the soldier, a sniper shot fractured Doss' arm and he crawled over 300 yards[50] to safety after being left alone for five hours.[51] Gibson omitted this from the film because he felt that the audience would not find the scene believable.[52] The film also omits his prior combat service in the Battle of Guam and Battle of Leyte (Doss was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for extraordinary bravery in both battles),[50] and leaves the impression that Doss' actions at Okinawa took place over a period of a few days, though his Medal of Honor citation covered his actions over a period of about three weeks (April 29 to May 21).[47][53]

James Horner was originally approached to compose the score for the film but was replaced by John Debney after Horner's untimely death in 2015.[54] Debney was himself replaced by Rupert Gregson-Williams after his score was rejected before Hacksaw Ridge was set to premiere at the Venice Film Festival.[55] When composing the music Gregson-Williams commented: "The soundtrack is really in two parts. A lovely romance blossoms as Desmond discovers both the love of his life and his faith. The second half of the movie is brutal...We wanted to reflect his spirituality without being pious, and his bravery without celebrating violence."[56] The film's accompanying score was recorded at Abbey Road Studios in London, with an orchestra of 70 musicians and a 36-voice choir conducted by Cliff Masterson.[57]

Marketing

On July 28, 2016, Lionsgate released the only official trailer for Hacksaw Ridge which garnered millions of views.[65] In partnership with Disabled American Veterans, Gibson screened the film at both the DAV National Convention and VFW National Convention in August 2016 to raise awareness of veterans' issues.[66] Within the same month, Gibson also appeared at Pastor Greg Laurie's SoCal Harvest in Anaheim, California to promote the film.[67] A number of Seventh-day Adventist ministries offered free copies of the Hero of Hacksaw Ridge book during the film's release[68][69] as well as created promotional materials[70] to highlight Doss' faith.[71] On February 24, 2017, Reto-Moto and Lionsgate announced a cross-promotion where the purchase of a DLC pack for Heroes & Generals would also give the purchaser a digital copy of the film.[72]

Reception

Box office

Hacksaw Ridge grossed $67.1 million in the United States and Canada and $108.2 million in other countries for a worldwide total of $175.3 million, against a production budget of $40 million.[5]

The film opened alongside Doctor Strange and Trolls, and was projected to gross around $12 million from 2,886 theaters. It was expected to play very well among faith-based, Midwest, and Southern audiences.[73][74] It made $5.2 million on its first day and $15.2 million in its opening weekend, finishing third at the box office behind Doctor Strange and Trolls. The debut was on par with the $15 million opening of Gibson's last directorial effort, Apocalypto, in 2006.[75] In its second weekend, the film grossed $10.6 million (a drop of just 30%), finishing 5th at the box office.[76]

The film also opened successfully in China, grossing over $16 million in its first four days at the box office[77] and over $60 million in total.[78]

Critical response

On review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 86% based on 245 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Hacksaw Ridge uses a real-life pacifist's legacy to lay the groundwork for a gripping wartime tribute to faith, valor, and the courage of remaining true to one's convictions."[79] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 71 out of 100, based on 47 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[80] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale,[81] while PostTrak reported filmgoers gave it a 91% overall positive score and a 67% "definite recommend."[75]

The Milford Daily News called the film a "masterpiece", adding that it "is going to end up on many 2016 Top 10 lists, that should get Oscar nominations for Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture."[82] Maggie Stancu of Movie Pilot wrote that "Gibson made some of his most genius directing choices in Hacksaw Ridge, and Garfield has given his best performance yet. With amazing performances by Vince Vaughn, Teresa Palmer, Sam Worthington and Hugo Weaving, it is absolutely one of 2016's must-see films."[83] Mick LaSalle of SFGate called the film "a brilliant return for Mel Gibson, which confirms his position as a director with a singular talent for spectacle and a sure way with actors."[84] In The Film Lawyers, Samar Khan called Hacksaw Ridge "fantastic," and emphasised "just how wonderful it is to have Gibson back in a more prominent position in Hollywood, hopefully with the demons of his past behind him. If Hacksaw Ridge is any indication, we are poised for a future filled with great films from the visionary director."[85]The Daily Telegraph awarded four stars, and added: "Hacksaw Ridge is a fantastically moving and bruising war film that hits you like a raw topside of beef in the face – a kind of primary-coloured Guernica that flourishes on a big screen with a crowd."[86]

The Guardian also awarded the film four stars, and stated that Gibson had "absolutely hit Hacksaw Ridge out of the park."[87]The Australian's reviewer was equally positive, stating that, as a director, "Gibson's approach is bold and fearless; this represents his best work to date behind the camera."[88] Rex Reed of Observer rated it with four stars, and called it "the best war film since Saving Private Ryan... [I]t is violent, harrowing, heartbreaking and unforgettable. And yes, it was directed by Mel Gibson. He deserves a medal, too"[89] Michael Smith of Tulsa World called Hacksaw Ridge a "moving character study" and praised both the direction and acting: "It's truly remarkable how Gibson can film scenes of such heartfelt emotion with such sweet subtlety as easily as he stages some of the most vicious, visual scenes of violence that you will ever see. ... Hacksaw Ridge is beautiful and brutal, and that's a potent combination for a movie about a man determined to serve his country, as well as his soul."[90]IGN critic Alex Welch gave a score of 8/10, praising it as "one of the most successful war films of recent memory," and "at times horrifying, inspiring, and heart-wrenching."[91] Mike Ryan of Uproxx gave the film a positive review, praising Gibson's direction and saying, "There are two moments during the second half of Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge when I literally jumped out of my seat in terror. The film's depiction of war is the best I've seen since Saving Private Ryan."[92]Peter Travers of Rolling Stone gave the film 3.5 stars, writing, "Thanks to some of the greatest battle scenes ever filmed, Gibson once again shows his staggering gifts as a filmmaker, able to juxtapose savagery with aching tenderness."[93] In contrast, Matt Zoller Seitz for RogerEbert.com gave the film 2.5 stars, and described the film as "a movie at war with itself."[94]